Kitty Cat

On Sunday afternoon, my mom calls me and I did not have a chance to tell her anything. Why did I not get to tell her anything (about THE DATE from H-E-double hockey sticks) you ask? Because she likes to tell me stories about the animals she has at her house.

My mom has two dogs and one cat. They are Taco, Chip, and Mac. Mac's the cat that makes Godzilla look scrawny. My mom has never been a cat person until she heard that the window licking cat needed a home and she took him in. Taco and Chip have adjusted and now my mom only talks about the trio. She came to the realization that Fridley (where she lives) will allow a single family dwelling to have two dogs and two cats as domesticated animals and she is considering getting another cat. My mom told me during this fifteen minute conversation (well, fifteen minutes of her spewing information) that she wants another cat.

Three hours later she calls me as I'm at my dad's with my dad and DM to let me know that she found a cat. She wasn't looking for a cat at that moment specifically, but she found a cat. Her neighbor came over to ask her if she would take care of this cat that keeps coming to his door.

This cat is just barely older than being a kitten and obviously came from a home where someone put money into the cat. It is completely declawed and has been neutered. She took this animal into her home and made signs and distributed them throughout the neighborhood, looking for his owner.

Her boyfriend, a man who doesn't like animals (but seems enthralled by Mac, Taco, and Chip), has taken a liking to this kitty. He wants to name him but my mom won't let a name be considered yet, especially since this cat belongs to someone else. She's just taking care of him to make sure he's safe and happy.

Well, she calls me and leaves messages about how the boys are reacting to the cat and now she's started emailing me cat stories. Now that I've given you the background, I can share some of the moments I've had listening to messages and reading my email.

First of all, Taco likes the kitten. Taco is older (17 1/2 years old) and doesn't see well anymore. He's still very healthy, but his eyesight is going and he walks in circles a lot. He gets tired and my mom hasn't heard him barking in about a year. I think he's losing some of his energy, but he's still in a loving home and my mom will do anything for him.

Off topic a little, but I need to explain what my mom would do for Taco. For the winter, she is putting up a baby guard so he stays in one part of the house during the day and at night. If he whines at night, she'll pick him up and take him outside. She won't let him try to go down the stairs at night because she's afraid of his loss of eyesight might make him fall and she is afraid of that. She wakes up 3 times a night so he can go piddle. During the day, she goes to work and leaves him in the area that is blocked off. She knows he can make it up and down the stairs in the light, but she's afraid he might go outside and get stuck. So for the winter, she won't let him get lost outside. My mom doesn't care if he has an accident in the house, she said, "It's only pee or poop. I can handle that." My mom has a pretty heavy duty carpet cleaner and she's not afraid to use it. She has also taken to having longer lunches at work and then staying late. She comes home on her lunch break to take Taco outside. That's love.

So Taco doesn't bark anymore. When the kitten arrived, he started playing with it and chasing it (playfully - Taco has always loved kittens. He thinks he's the mommy.) He barks at it to play with him. It's like 5 years came off his age when this kitten walked in the door. So, even if she doesn't keep the kitten, I'm sure she'll get another one.

Chip likes the kitten, but the newness has depleted. At first, he'd follow it around and do this half tail wag thing. Chip came from a pet store and has always been a skittish dog. He tries to be brave, but you can see the caution he uses when there is anything that scares him around. With this kitten, it's like he's saying, "I want to like you, please don't hurt me."

Mac doesn't hiss at this kitten anymore at least. My mom wanted to make sure Mac didn't feel like this kitten has replaced him. So she takes extra time to pay attention to Mac and of course, this includes giving him even more food. I swear, this cat has a throw pillow for a stomach. It just waddles underneath him.

The email I got from my mom today. Enjoy!

He'll eat anything. I gave him Cheerios yesterday morning to shut him up. Scott [her boyfriend] has given him a tomato and an almond and he stole some lettuce off Scott's plate. He told me to watch it for him and was a little miffed that I didn't chase the kitten away. Geez, I was waaaay too busy looking for the camera to worry about protecting his salad. It's not like it was MY salad the cat was eating!

I love her. She's crazy, but I love her. She'll do anything to give joy to a creature that has given her even an ounce of happiness. Now I understand why my dad always said, "If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I'd like to come back as one of Laurie's [my mom] pets."

Correction: I typed the wrong word and now I've corrected it.

2 Comments:

At 8:43 AM, CarpeDM said...

I love your mom. I can't believe that cat eats salad. Weird.

When did your dad change his name to Laurie?

At 9:13 AM, The Lioness said...

I was going to ask abt that! Lovely post, your mom is opne of my own, as we say.

But. Kitten is still small and giving him a mix of human foods can upset his GI tract majorly, REALLY, especially if he has parasites. He should only eat baby food. Am a bit sad abt the declawing, it's not just nails you know, it's the entire first phallanx, the first little bone of the paws. So yes, bone amputation, very nastty and painful to recover from. Also, leaves him absolutely helpless if he needs to fight other cats or dogs bcs he cannot protect himself anymore AND he cannot climb trees, you see. Am v concerned abt a family who LETS HIM OUTSIDE after doing this to him. I'm praying your mum gets to keep him. Wish I could come round and TAKE ALL THE SIGNS DOWN! PEople make me so mad at times!

AND WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY DESPERATE EMAIL??? [You and DM don't like me anymore? *Sniff*]